


The Magic Disappears

by TheGlassFloor



Series: Marvin McMagicspell [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, High School, Magic, Mind Screw, Suburban Gothic, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27383797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGlassFloor/pseuds/TheGlassFloor
Summary: Marvin wakes up one morning to find that everything has changed.The end of the Marvin McMagicspell saga. (But could it also be the beginning of something else...?)
Series: Marvin McMagicspell [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1962031





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's 2020, and I'm writing about my characters in the Marvin McMagicspell universe for the first time in...I can't even think of how long. I just up and decided to write about them one day, picking up where they left off after Magically Spirited.
> 
> I'll save further commentary for later and let the writing speak for itself for now...

Marvin woke on a Monday morning to find that the door leading up to the attic had changed. The torn, jagged wallpaper edges that had once outlined it were now straight and smooth, and the large hole that had been chopped through it with an ax was gone, as was the purple ‘M’ that had been painted on it. The door was completely intact. Even the doorknob had returned.

Marvin frowned in confusion, going up to the door and testing the knob, which was unlocked and turned easily. He stepped through and walked upstairs to the attic and switched on the light.

At first everything seemed the same. He glanced up the rafters and didn’t see Abey perched there, though there was nothing unusual about that. It wasn’t like Abey spent  _ all _ his time inside the attic. He stepped over to the table and opened the book with its large ‘M’ embroidered on the cover. He smiled at the familiar words,  _ McMagicspell Book of Phenomena _ printed on the first page, but when he continued to turn the pages, he found that all of them after the title page were blank. In a panic, he flipped through the entire book, not finding one word printed anywhere.

He slammed the book shut and looked around feverishly, and only then did he notice that the containers on the shelves were all empty. The magical ingredients he had used to brew potions and cast spells, they had all vanished.

What was happening?

Unfortunately he didn’t have time to try and figure it out. It was a school day, and he needed to start getting ready.

His hand moved up, checking to make sure that his gold ‘M’ necklace was still hanging around his neck, which it was.

He stepped away from the table towards the attic door, but then stopped and turned around and focused his eyes on the book. His powers of psychokinesis lifted the book several inches off the table. With a flick of his wrist, an energetic thrust was sent forth, toppling over the table while the book remained floating in the air. A flick in the other direction pulled the table upright again, and he released his hold on the book, causing it to drop back onto the table surface, landing with a thud.

He breathed a sigh of relief. At least he still had his powers.

After getting dressed and ready and eating breakfast, Marvin’s dad appeared ready to drive him to school.

“Kirk’s picking me up,” Marvin informed him.

Mr. Mannix smiled. “You’re getting a ride from a friend?”

Marvin returned the smile, albeit disbelievingly. A friend? As if Kirk was just some friend, and not his  _ best  _ friend.

“Yes,” was all he said.

“Well, that’s great, kiddo. I’m glad you’re making friends. You have a good day at school, okay?”

“I will, Dad.”

He opened his arms and Marvin moved into them. They hugged each other tight.

“I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

Marvin went out and sat on the porch swing, waiting for Kirk to pick him up. He was trying to stay calm and not worry about the fact that the magic was gone. How could the book become completely blank overnight? And the ingredients disappeared, but the containers that once held them still remained?

It wouldn’t be the first time something strange happened in his life, and magic was obviously involved in the removal of magic, and anyway, the magic wasn’t  _ completely _ gone as long as he still had his powers.

He wished he could talk to Abey. The morning air was still and he didn’t see a single pigeon anywhere. He knew he’d feel better once he talked to Kirk and the others, though. As long as they still had their necklaces and their powers, they were still the Magic Makers.

He sat thinking about these things for so long that he didn’t even realize how much time had passed. He looked at his watch, and his eyes grew wide when he saw what time it was. What was keeping Kirk?

He took out his cell phone and dialed Kirk’s number, which went straight to voicemail. Of course. Kirk was always a safe driver and never answered his phone while he was driving.

He waited a while longer, and still there was no sign of his friend. He was sure Kirk would have an explanation for being so late, and Marvin was more than ready to forgive.

When he checked his watch again, he started to get really worried.

First period had already started. He was supposed to be sitting in Mr. Donaldson’s Algebra class. Courtney and Annette would see his empty desk and wonder where he was.

Wait, no they wouldn’t, because they all rode to school with Kirk too. Not a single one of them thought to call and tell him what was going on? How could that be?

Something was terribly wrong.

He tried each of their phone numbers, and all three went to voicemail. On one level that made sense; if they were sitting in class, they’d have to have their phones turned off, or risk having them confiscated by the teacher if they happened to ring. But how could they have gone to school and not given Marvin a ride to school as well? It made no sense at all.

Marvin got up from the porch swing and went back inside the house. His dad was coming down the stairs in his police officer uniform. He frowned when he saw Marvin.

“What happened? Why aren’t you at school?”

Marvin wasn’t sure what to say at first. As a general rule he tried not to worry his parents if he could help it, so he told a little white lie.

“I guess today was the day that Kirk couldn’t take me to school because he was staying overnight at his grandma’s. I guess I forgot.”

Mr. Mannix sighed. “And now you’re late, and now I’m gonna be late because I have to take you to school.”

“What about Mom?”

“Already at work.”

“I’m sorry,” Marvin said because he didn’t know what else to say.

“It’s okay. No big deal. Just try not to let something like this happen again if you can help it.”


	2. Chapter 2

First period was almost over when Marvin got to school, so he waited by the gym until the bell rang, then headed off in the direction of the quad. On his way to his locker, he spotted Courtney and Annette coming out of Algebra class together and went over to them. He called out their names, and they turned around.

“Hey Marvin,” Annette said. “What’s up?”

He held up both hands. “What do you mean, ‘What’s up?’ Where’s Kirk?”

She and Courtney exchanged glances, then looked at him again. “I don’t know. Going to class, I guess. Why?”

This day was getting stranger by the minute.

“You mean...he’s here, at school? And he drove you?”

“Well, yeah. He’s my brother, he always does.”

Marvin felt startled, and after a moment’s consideration he realized why. It was the look Annette had just given him, as if she thought he was a moron and was getting impatient talking to him. It reminded him of...well, of the way most of the students at Fredericksburg High School had treated him. And that was definitely not something he wanted to experience here at Falstaff Academy.

Then he noticed something, or rather, the lack of something.

Neither of the girls were wearing their ‘M’ necklaces.

“Your necklaces...where are they?”

The crowd of students in the quad was gradually getting sparser as people were getting their things from their lockers and heading to their next classes, and the three of them would be late if they didn’t do the same.

“Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and you’re kinda weirding me out, so bye.”

They turned away and left him standing there in confusion.

* * *

To say that Marvin had trouble concentrating in his classes for the rest of the morning would be an understatement. In just a few hours his life had gone completely topsy turvy. As if what happened in the attic earlier that morning wasn’t bizarre enough, now his friends (or two of them at least) were treating him like he was a stranger. As if he was just some weird kid who went to the same school they did, whose first name they knew, but knew nothing else about each other beyond that. He’d be lying to himself if he tried to pretend that didn’t hurt.

He kept his eyes open for Kirk in between classes. Kirk was a grade ahead of him, and Marvin didn’t exactly have his class schedule memorized. Finally he spotted him between fourth and fifth periods heading into Foods and Nutrition class. Marvin felt the urge to follow him into the classroom, but he knew he’d be late if he did so, so he decided to wait until lunchtime.

At lunchtime, he caught sight of Kirk with a group of guys heading to the gym. They were already a distance away, and he was going to run to catch up, but decided to call him instead. Maybe it would be easier to talk to him in private that way. He took out his phone and dialed Kirk’s number.

“Hello?”

“Kirk? It’s Marvin.”

“Marvin? Hey. What’s up?”

What could he say? Would Kirk respond the same way Annette and Courtney had? Would he treat Marvin like someone he barely knew, instead of like a close friend he’d grown to trust and care deeply about?

“I just have one question.”

A pause, and then, “Okay, what is it?”

“Does the name ‘McMagicspell’ mean anything to you?”

Another pause.

“What? What name did you say?”

“McMagicspell. Or Centromere. Or Abey. Or Marissa. Or Pepper of Sleep. Does any of that ring any bells?”

His voice trembled on those last few words. From Kirk’s end of the phone call, he was met with nothing but silence.

Actually, he could hear the voices of other guys in the background. The guys he was heading to the gym with. The kind of guys Kirk would probably rather be friends with than him. Could they hear what he was saying? Would they have a laugh at his expense?

“I don’t understand,” Kirk said softly.

Marvin swallowed the lump in his throat and said, “You know what? Never mind. I’m sorry I bothered you.” Then he hung up the phone.

Marvin sat down on a bench near the science building and fought back tears. Why was this happening?

Other students milled about the quad, passing him by but paying him no mind. Those who hadn’t headed off to the cafeteria or the gym were hanging out in little groups and cliques. He saw Courtney and Annette hanging out with some other girls and even a couple guys, spread out on the ground underneath a tree. He ached to go over there and join them, but after what had happened earlier, he knew he wouldn’t really be welcome.

The distress he felt must have been evident on his face, because he heard someone say, “Marvin? Are you okay?”

He looked up. It was Jason.

He hadn’t seen him approaching, but now he couldn’t help but smile. Jason had always been friendly to him. And unlike Annette, Courtney, and Kirk, Jason had never known anything about the McMagicspell magic in the first place, so whatever wicked mojo had been placed on this day that had removed almost everything relating to McMagicspell and the Magic Makers from existence, his acquaintanceship with Jason hadn’t changed, so that was a relief at least.

“Yeah,” Marvin said, “I’m fine. Just having a really weird day.”

“Well, hey, I’m headed to the cafeteria. You wanna come and hang out?”

Marvin shrugged. “Sure.”

The two boys walked to the cafeteria together, bypassing the line and heading straight for the tables, both of them having brought their own lunch. Marvin hung back slightly as it slowly dawned on him where they were heading.

Jason closed the rest of the distance to the table where José and Dante were already sitting. He sat down with them, then looked back at Marvin, having only just noticed that he’d stopped. He was standing a few yards away, but near enough to notice that José wasn’t wearing his necklace, just like Courtney and Annette hadn’t been.

By now José and Dante were looking at him too. Jason and José just looked confused, whereas Dante looked...well, the way he always looked at Marvin.

No one at this school did a better job at making Marvin feel inferior and unwelcome than Dante Desoto, and like Jason’s friendliness, the lack of magic wouldn’t change Dante’s attitude toward him. The thought of sitting and eating lunch at the same table as Dante was just about the last thing he wanted.

Not knowing what else to do, Marvin turned and walked quickly out of the cafeteria.


	3. Chapter 3

After the school day ended, Marvin sat on a bench out in front by the parking lot, waiting for his dad to pick him up, looking about as gloomy and unapproachable as he had ever since the day had started. So it surprised him when somebody actually did approach him.

“Marvin. Hey.”

He looked up. It was Kirk, standing in front of where he was sitting, smiling at him.

He wanted to spring up off the bench and throw his arms around him, to be able to hold onto at least one good thing from the life he’d grown to love these past couple of months, ever since his family had moved to Baltimore, really.

But he didn’t. He knew that Kirk, or this version of Kirk anyway, would react the same way Annette and Courtney had reacted to that kind of unearned familiarity.

So he just said, “Hi, Kirk.”

Kirk took off his backpack and set it down as he sat down on the bench next to him.

“How'd you get my number?”

After a moment’s pause, Marvin answered softly, “You gave it to me.” It was the truth.

“I did? Oh. Okay.”

He obviously didn’t remember. To think that yesterday they had been best friends, at least to Marvin’s memory. Just one day, and he already missed their friendship terribly. It felt so strange, missing someone’s friendship when that person was sitting right next to you.

Well, at least he’s sitting with me, Marvin thought. He hadn’t invited Kirk or done anything to make him want to sit down, Kirk had done so on his own.

“Well, anyway, what were you saying? I wasn’t really understanding because I was going to the gym to play basketball with the guys.”

Marvin held up the gold chain that hung around his neck with the little gold ‘M’ attached. “Does this look familiar to you?”

“Your necklace. Sure. You wear it every day, don’t you?”

Marvin was actually surprised. Kirk was a sophomore and Marvin was a freshman. They had no classes together, no real opportunities to get to know one another outside of being Magic Makers and having powers, and yet Kirk had actually noticed a specific detail about him.

“But you don’t have one, do you?”

“Have what? A gold necklace with a ‘K’?” He smiled. “No, but that would be cool. Hey, maybe I should get one, then everyone will want to copy us and have a necklace of their first initial. We’ll start a trend.”

Marvin smiled, for the first time in hours.

“Or should I get an ‘H’ for my last name? I just remembered, your first and last name both start with ‘M’.”

Marvin was beginning to feel better. Even without the bond they’d formed as Magic Makers, Kirk was the same as always. And so too were Courtney and Annette, he knew. He had simply put them on the spot that morning. How else should they have reacted when a guy they barely knew was talking about something that made no sense to them and nearly made them late for class?

Kirk stood up. “Well, see you tomorrow I guess. And listen, if you ever want to hang out--”

“Wait!” Marvin stood up from the bench as well. “Do you think you could give me a ride home?”

“Okay. Sure.”

* * *

Marvin called his dad to let him know he didn’t need to pick him up from school. Kirk drove him home, and when they got there, Marvin invited him inside.

“Nice house,” Kirk said.

“Thanks. I want to show you something. Upstairs.”

Kirk cocked an eyebrow.

“Trust me. Just this once.”

Kirk shrugged and followed him as he went upstairs and into his bedroom, then through the door up to the attic. He stood on the opposite side of the table from Kirk and tilted the book upward for him to see (checking first to see if the pages were still blank, which they were, unfortunately).

“Anything?”

“Cool book,” Kirk said. “What about it, though?”

Marvin sighed, and set the book down. He took a couple steps backward.

“Okay, don’t freak out. What you’re about to see is gonna...well...it’s gonna be a little hard to believe.”

He squinted his eyes and focused his powers on the book, making it rise several inches off of the table. Soon it had risen a foot. Then two feet.

“How are you doing that?” Kirk said, looking and feeling amazed. “Is there a wire? Or a magnet?”

Marvin let the book drop back onto the table. “Nope. I did that with my mind. I have a magical power called psychokinesis, or PK for short.”

Kirk laughed. “You’re a funny guy, you know that? I can’t believe we’ve never hung out before.”

“Pick something from the shelves. Anything. Just point to it.”

“Okay. That metal-looking can thing.”

The canister that had once held the ingredient called Sunspot. Marvin flicked his wrist and the object flew off the shelf, right into Kirk’s hands.

“Whoa!”

“My real name isn’t Marvin Mannix. It’s Marvin McMagicspell. Well I mean, legally my name is Mannix, yes, but my ancestors were named McMagicspell before they changed it. I didn’t know anything about any of this,” he waved his hand to indicate the attic around them, “until a couple months ago. My grandfather, Mark, was killed by his stepsister, Marissa, who’s a wicked witch… Or she was, anyway, now she’s a Chumick… Anyway, I found all this stuff in the attic before we moved in, which even my parents didn’t know existed, and there was a talking pigeon living in here, named Abey…”

Marvin checked up at the rafters, still not seeing Abey there. He looked at the hole in the roof, wishing the darn bird would fly through it from wherever he’d flown off to and confirm everything he was saying.

“I named him that. At first it was going to be A.B. for Attic Bird, but then the name Abey just sorta stuck… Anyway, there was this book…” He opened the Book of Phenomena and flipped through its blank pages for Kirk to see. “...which had all kinds of spells and potions and cool information about magic that secretly exists in our world, and all those empty containers on the shelves held the ingredients needed...oh, and there was this silver box that I had the key to, which contained these five necklaces, just like this one…” He held the ‘M’ of his necklace forward. “...and if any person wears them at midnight on a full moon or a new moon, it will give them powers. That’s how I have my PK. I gave the other four to you and Annette and Courtney Mancina and José Alvarado, and you guys all got different magic powers as well, and we used them to fight Marissa and also this other Chumick named Centromere, but then…”

Kirk was slowly backing away towards the door that led back downstairs out of the attic. He reached up and put the canister he was holding back onto a wooden shelf.

“I know it all sounds ridiculous, but before you run off, just let me say one more thing and then I promise I won’t ever bother you again. Having magical powers and having you guys as friends… Well, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. You and I, Kirk...we were best friends. But then I woke up this morning and it was like none of it had ever happened. And I don’t know why. Weird things have happened before, but there always seemed to be an explanation. I’m sure there’s an explanation for this, but I’m starting to think that whatever it is, this time it might be something beyond my control. Anyway, the point is...you’re a wonderful person and I just want to thank you for being you. I felt so lucky about everything that happened over the last couple of months...the magic, us becoming friends, and I guess part of me always thought it was too good to be true, and that if it wasn’t for McMagicspell, you guys probably never would have given me any thought. But that says more about me than it does about you. So even if we’re not friends, I’ll always remember the time we spent together and be grateful for it.”

Marvin stopped talking, having run out of breath. Kirk was standing still, but appeared tense. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyes were moving around a lot, as though he was thinking about everything that Marvin had just said but didn’t know how to respond.

Finally, he turned around and hurried down the stairs out of the attic. Marvin followed him down to the bedroom, then stood and listened as Kirk descended the stairs to the main level. He heard the front door open and close, and then all was silent.

Marvin took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, lying on his side with his head on a pillow and holding the other pillow to his chest.

It was then, for the first time that day, that he finally allowed himself to cry.


	4. Chapter 4

After having dinner with his parents that evening--which he tried to relish as best he could, considering the love of his mom and dad was one of the few genuinely good things he had left--he sat up in his room alone. He’d already finished his homework. What now? He supposed he could go down to the living room and watch TV. It was so weird, to have gone so long without talking to Abey. What had happened to Abey, anyway? Was the magic spell his grandfather had cast on a pigeon giving it the gift of speech no longer in effect, rendering Abey a normal pigeon once again?

Speaking of magic spells…

Marvin suddenly remembered his keyboard, hidden away in his closet. He looked inside and found it was still there. He set it up next to his bed and plugged it in. After letting his fingers hover over the keys for a few moments, he began to play the adagio sostenuto, the first movement of Beethoven’s _Moonlight Sonata_.

He smiled. He still knew how to play! By rights, it was a talent that shouldn’t have even been his. Using a spell, he’d gotten an elderly man named John Preston, who had spent a lifetime playing piano, to transfer his talent to Marvin just before he died. Marvin hadn’t expected him to die, and so of course, he couldn’t give the talent back. The reason he’d wanted to play keyboard in the first place was so he could join Mystilogical, José’s band. He’d hoped they could become close friends if they played in the band together, the way Marvin had been close with Kirk, Courtney, and Annette. José was already part of the Magic Makers, but there had been a strange, lingering awkwardness between them. They never felt like true friends.

Things didn’t exactly pan out, and in hindsight, it seemed like a foolish thing to do. He knew his real motivation was envy: He saw how popular José, Jason, and Dante were because of their band, and he desperately wanted a slice of that metaphorical pie. What ever made him think he could be popular and cool like those guys? Why hadn’t he been content with the friendship he already had with Kirk, Courtney, and Annette?

He contemplated these things for roughly six minutes, all the way to the end of the adagio. After pausing to remember how to begin the next part, the allegretto...he suddenly realized he couldn’t.

He tried to play the adagio again, but after just a couple of notes, his fingers fumbled on the keys and he messed it up completely. He tried starting again...but couldn’t. The keys that once felt so familiar to him, now seemed foreign. Like strangers.

Like Kirk and the others.

He no longer knew how to play.

Marvin shoved the keyboard in frustration, making it topple over. He gasped and focused his PK on it at the last millisecond, catching it before it hit the floor.

It _was_ a two-hundred and fifty dollar keyboard, after all.

So that was it then, was it? Another part of that life, a life that now only he remembered, erased from existence.

Maybe he was being punished for misusing magic, for thinking he could use it to achieve a higher status in life in a way that some would call cheating, and others might even call immoral.

Marvin’s face burned hot. He ran up to the attic.

“What is it?!” he yelled, bursting through the door. “Why?! What’s the reason?!?! I have all this magic, all this power at my fingertips, power to change my life and send it in a better direction, and then it all just vanishes?!! WHY?!?!?!”

He didn’t know if his parents could hear him shouting from all the way up here. He didn’t even know who he was shouting to. There must have been something else, some _one_ else, who was pulling the strings, so to speak.

There was the dream he’d had, the far-off female voice telling him to give the fifth necklace to José, then later cryptically telling him she was a real person and that they would meet one day. Whoever she was, if she was responsible for this, why couldn’t she give him an explanation?

It couldn’t be Marissa or Centromere, could it? He knew they both wanted to steal the magic, but leaving the containers behind? And erasing the book of all its information but leaving the book itself? It made no sense.

Nothing made sense.

“I give up,” he said, throwing up his arms.

He stormed downstairs to the living room and turned on the TV. He fixed himself a cup of hot cocoa, wrapped himself in a warm blanket, and found a movie on TV to watch. All he wanted right now was to just forget about everything else.


	5. Chapter 5

Marvin spent the entire following day at school focusing on his studies in an effort to block out all other thoughts. He was the first to raise his hand in Mr. Donaldson’s Algebra class, and he even succeeded at going the entire period without looking at Courtney or Annette even once.

If nothing else, he figured this recent change to his life would help improve his grades.

He even got started on his homework early, as soon as classes had ended for the day. He stood in the parking lot, reading and rereading the week’s vocabulary words for English in an effort to memorize them while waiting for his ride.

He almost jumped when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned and saw that it was…

“Kirk!”

“Need a ride?”

Of all people, he was one of the last persons he’d expect to be talking to him after what happened the day before.

“No, it’s alright,” Marvin said softly after a moment’s thought. “My dad’s picking me up.”

“Okay. See ya, then.” Kirk began walking to his car.

Marvin almost wanted to shout after him and accept the ride anyway. He realized, too late, that he could have just lied and said he didn't have a ride, but Kirk would hear the phone call he'd have to make to let his dad know not to come get him, thus defeating the purpose of lying. Marvin decided just to let it go, and watched from a distance as Kirk got in his car and drove away.

* * *

Later, at home, Marvin was sitting in the living room, reading a chapter in his history textbook when the doorbell rang. His mom went to answer it.

“Hi,” he could hear her say from where he sat. “Can I help you?” Then, “Yes, he is. Would you like to come inside?”

Marvin listened closely. This time he could hear the voice of the person standing on the porch, albeit faintly: “Actually, could he come outside?”

“Sure.” Mrs. Mannix turned. “Mar-- Oh!” She jumped in surprise, seeing that Marvin was already standing right there, his history book left behind and forgotten.

Marvin stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

“Hey,” Marvin said with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey,” Kirk said. “Okay, so that ride I offered you? That was just an excuse. I actually wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

“Come on.” He started towards his car where it was parked at the curb. “Let’s go somewhere.”

Marvin followed.

* * *

They drove in silence. It felt awkward at first, and Marvin didn’t know what to say, but since Kirk was the one to say he wanted to talk to Marvin, he decided he'd wait for him to speak first.

Marvin wondered where they were going. He would have thought they’d go somewhere like the mall, or even to the park to shoot hoops at the basketball court, but to Marvin’s surprise, Kirk actually drove them somewhere he hadn’t expected: to Fort McHenry National Monument.

He’d never been there before, but of course like any other student he knew the story most famously associated with it--the one about the battle between America and Great Britain during the War of 1812 that inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner”.

They walked around the perimeter of the fort together, along the brick trails that passed in front of the huge, black cannons pointed out towards Baltimore Harbor. They looked amazing up close, and Marvin wanted to reach out and touch them. There was a slight breeze in the air, but otherwise it was peaceful and quiet.

“This is a cool place,” he said, finally breaking the ice. “Listen, Kirk, I’ll be honest. You’re probably the last person I’d have expected to want to hang out with me, especially after yesterday…”

“Yeah, well, the thing is, Marvin...I think I actually believe you.”

“You _do_?”

Kirk stopped and stood looking out over the water, with the cannons and the two-hundred-year-old fort behind him. After a few moments of silence, he said, “When I was a kid, I would go over to my grandma’s house a lot, and my grandparents had a bunch of old albums and scrapbooks. I remember there was this one book they had with a bunch of old clippings from magazines and newspapers and stuff. It was really cool. And I’ll always remember, there was this one clipping from the eighteen-hundreds...I don’t know where it originally came from, but it was an old black-and-white photo of this, of Baltimore Harbor, taken from right here at Fort McHenry. And of course there were ships in the photograph, big sailing ships out there on the water…” Kirk waved his hand, indicating the blue expanse of water that stretched out before them. “And I remember there was a little bit of text that said something like…” He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember. “I can’t remember exactly how it was worded, but it said something about sailors sailing all over the world bringing items of magical value to those who could make use of them, or something like that.”

Marvin was amazed. Why had Kirk never told him anything about this before?

Maybe it was because Marvin actually _had_ items of magical value in his possession, and there was no need to convince anyone of their reality when they actually saw them being utilized, whereas a clipping in a scrapbook from some unknown source confirming something that was already obvious was comparatively unimpressive.

“I remember seeing it,” Kirk continued, “and I must have been really young, because I don’t remember if I said anything to my grandma about it at the time or not, but years later, when I was older and staying overnight at her house, and looking through the albums and scrapbooks for like the hundredth time...I couldn’t find it.” He turned his gaze away from the water and looked Marvin in the eye. “I searched and searched through every album, and it was nowhere to be found. I asked my grandma about it, and she said she didn’t know what I was talking about.” He looked out at the water again. “So I guess that’s why I believe your story, about how you woke up one day and your spell book was blank, and all other traces of your magic were gone.”

“I just wish I knew how it happened,” Marvin said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sometimes I like to come here when I have trouble making sense of stuff. Or if I just want to be alone to think, or to clear my head of all thoughts. Just looking out at the water, walking around the fort, thinking about all the history, about all the stuff happening in the world...I don’t know. It helps, somehow.” He looked at Marvin and smiled a half-smile. “You’re the first person I’ve ever brought here with me. The guys, the ones I play basketball with...I guess you could call them my friends, but we don’t really have a whole lot in common...they always call me a nerd whenever I start talking like this.”

Marvin’s jaw fell. “They call _you_ a nerd?!”

“Not in a mean way. I know they’re just messing with me. The point is...I don’t always have the easiest time relating to others. People assume that I’m just a basketball jock and I guess that makes them think I’m perfectly content with life. And I am, mostly, but...there’s just _so much more_ to life than basketball.”

Marvin nodded silently.

Kirk pointed to a rock on the ground several feet away. “That rock over there. Can you move it? With your powers, I mean?”

Marvin did a quick check to make sure no one else was around, then focused his eyes on the rock, sending it shooting up in the air and in an arch over the boys’ heads, landing several feet away on the other side of them.

“Yep,” Kirk said. “I’m pretty sure I believe you.”

Marvin searched for words to say, but the moment was interrupted by his phone ringing. It was his mom.

“Honey, how much longer are you going to be gone? We’re having dinner soon.”

“Sorry, Mom. I’ll be home in a little bit.”

* * *

Kirk drove Marvin back to his house. He parked the car and they both got out and walked up the stone walkway together.

“Thank you for taking me to see Fort McHenry, Kirk,” Marvin said. “I really enjoyed it.”

“You’re welcome. Listen, about what you said yesterday, about us being best friends? I think I believe that, too.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do. Truth is, I’ve always kinda wished I could be close friends with just one guy who really gets me. You know?”

Marvin did know. “Does that mean we’re friends now?”

Kirk smiled. “Would I be walking you to your door if we weren’t?”

Compared to how he felt just twenty-four hours ago, Marvin was elated. He wanted to show it. He didn’t want to keep his feelings inside, but he also didn’t want to come on too strong too soon. He didn’t know what being friends with Kirk would be like going forward without the McMagicspell magic for them to bond over, though he guessed they would figure that out soon.

Right now, in the moment, he took a chance by stepping closer to Kirk and giving him a hug, and to his great relief, Kirk hugged him back. He held on tight for a while, grateful that of all the things he’d lost in a single day, his friendship with Kirk was something he’d actually managed to win back.

Suddenly life didn’t seem so bad after all.


	6. Epilogue

_...I am responding to your request for a report on my activities over these last three months. As planned, I was able to magically project my consciousness into the body of a pigeon while also magically imitating the voice of the late Mark McMagicspell, whose death was a result of actions performed by his stepsister, Marissa. The loss of any member of the sprawling diaspora that is the McMagicspell family is unfortunate indeed, but luckily, in this case, it did not present as great of a roadblock to our plans as was initially feared. Marissa's exact whereabouts need to be traced of course, but she seems unlikely to present any further problems at the moment, as she has apparently left the United States. _

_ During this period of three months, I kept a close watch over Mark's grandson, Marvin McMagicspell, and the cache of McMagicspell magic--most of which originated from Scotland and was brought to Baltimore in the 1920s--remained safely in Marvin's possession, including the  _ McMagicspell Book of Phenomena _ , the stock of magical ingredients, and the five gold necklaces. In my close monitoring of Marvin, I've observed that he kept the magic a secret from everyone, with the exception of four of his schoolmates. He gave a magic necklace to each of them--one of whom was chosen by me. I magically communicated with Marvin in a dream, instructing him to give the fifth necklace to a specific person. My reasons for choosing that specific person are complicated and best discussed at a later time. _

_ As of this week, the four aforementioned schoolmates have all had their minds magically purged of all memories regarding the existence of magic. This proved difficult, compounded by the necessity to briefly hypnotize and control their individual minds just long enough to make them remove the necklaces and turn them over to me, as they cannot be forcibly removed by anyone but the wearer. I am happy to report that all of this was done successfully with no obvious side effects. _

_ Needless to say, the initial shock of discovering the cache of McMagicspell magic having mysteriously vanished caused Marvin a none too small amount of distress, but his apparent ability to cope with the situation has proved admirable. He was permitted to keep his necklace, and with it, his power of psychokinesis. The text of the  _ McMagicspell Book of Phenomena _ was magically copied to another tome, thus rendering all of its pages blank, other than the title page. Similarly, the stock of ingredients were magically transported somewhere safe while their containers remained behind. _

_ As previously discussed, this three-month exercise took place because it was deemed necessary to make Marvin aware of the existence of magic in the world so that he'll recognize it when he encounters it again in the future, and it is a statistical certainty that he will. Confrontations with Marissa and another Chumick named Centromere have shown him just what to expect from any similar conflicts that should arise, and his brief experience using magic has no doubt given him an idea of the kind of effect it can potentially have on the world around oneself when used in moderation. _

_ I will rendezvous with you soon to ensure the cache of McMagicspell magic reaches its new destination safely and so that we can discuss future plans in greater detail. _

_ Kindest Regards, _

_ Marie McMagicspell _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking back at the three Marvin McMagicspell books I wrote in my younger years, I feel like I created a character who turned out to be really unlikable. I wanted to take him down a peg. Which is why, on a whim one day in 2020, I wrote this story in which everything is taken away from him...almost. When I finished chapter 3, I could have ended it there, but I asked myself, “Is this really where it ends?” Somehow I didn’t think so.
> 
> I decided (or realized) that Kirk would remain his friend. I also realized that this meant I could continue writing new adventures about Marvin and Kirk within a different framework than what I’d originally created. No magic spellbook, no wise talking animal, just one magical power instead of five. With Marvin’s psychokinesis and Kirk’s eagerness to hunt down esoteric knowledge, I can only imagine what kind of adventures are in store for them.
> 
> I haven’t even decided what to call the new series yet, but I think I’ll start writing about it soon...
> 
> EDIT: The next story is already completed and can be found [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018026/chapters/68633823).


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